Process for separating metals from their ores.



J. D. WOLF. PROCESS FOR SBPARATING METALS FROM THEIR ORES.

APPLICATION FILED OUTA, 1906.

Patented Sept. 22, 1908. 6 SHEETS-SHEET l.

J. D. WOLF. PROCESS FOR SEPARATING METALS FROM THEIR 0113s.

APPLIGATION FILED OOTA, 1906.

Patented Septx22, 1908.

QUE/71,605.

-' J. D. WOLF.

PROGESS FOR SEPARATING METALS PROM THEIR ORES'. APPLIGATION FILED 00124,1906.

899,478, Patented 891913.22, 1908.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 3 12 3. 191$ llwe/zwr,

I J. D. WOLF. PROCESS FOR SEPARATING METALS FROM THEIR GEES.

APPLICATION FILED 001 .4, 1906.

899,478, 7 Patented 891313.22, 1908.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

6 i T n i=1 -6 flmwas jyf M.. 4

rm; NORRIS rs'rxns co., WASHINGTON, n. c.

J. D. WOLF- PROCESS FOR SEPARATING METALS FROM THEIR 0113s.

APPLIOATION FILED OOTA, 1906.

899,478. Patented Sept. 22, 1908.

6 SHEBTS-SHEET 5.

Witnesses. v liw'eni'or w gra MQQ I I attorneys] rm: "cams Pan-.125 ca.,wxsumarou, n. c.

J. D. WOLF. PROCESS FOR SEPABATING METALS FROM THEIR ORES. APPLIOATIONFILED 00124, 1906.

899,478. 1 Patented ept.22,1908

6 SHEETS-SHEET 6.

rm; NORRIS PETERS :o., wnsumarow, n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

. JACOB DAVID WOLF, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

PRCCESS FOR SEPARATING METALS FROM THEIR ORES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 22, 1908.

Original application fi1ed July 7, 1905, Serial No. 268,611. Divided andthis application filed October 4, 1906. Serial No. 337,445.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JACOB DAVID WOLF, gentleman, a citizen of the UnitedStates of America, residing at 17 Throgmorton avenue, in the city ofLondon, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inProcesses for Separating Metals from Their Ores, of which the followingis a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in processes for separatingmetals from their ores, the resent application being a divisional appication covering subject matter originally described and claimed in myapplication for process and apparatus for the separation of metals fromtheir ores, filed Ju y 7, 1905, Serial No. 268,611.

As in my former application the present process has for its object theseparation of metals from their ores by the employment of oil or greaseand especially oil or grease hav ing a high degree of viscosity andcohesion or in which a high degree of viscosity and cohesion has beenproduced. For example I may employ oil or grease which has been preparedor treated with chlorid of sulfur or other suitable material ortreatment to alter the physical characteristics of the oil or grease orotherwise render same suitable for use in conjunction with apparatusaccording to my present invention for separating metals from their ores.1

By the terms oil or grease I mean and intend to include herein anyv oilor grease or any oleaginous substance or compound that can or may beemployed in carrying out my present invention and which will act or eX-ert such action on the metals to be separated as will be producedthereon by oil or grease having a high degree of viscosity and cohesionwhich has been imparted thereto say by specially preparing or treatingheavy hydrocarbon oils with chlorid of sulfur in the now well-knownmanneror I may employ other mineral oils such as heavy tar oils orresidual oilsor I may employ any other oils as desired whether animalvegetable or mineral oils or greases or fish oils provided same aresuitable for my purpose, i. e. are either of themselves of suitableviscosity density and cohesion, or are capable of having sufiicientviscosity and cohesion artificially imparted thereto all of which oilsgreases or oleaginous substances or the like I will for the sake ofbrevity hereinafter refer to as oil.

The present invention consists of a new or improved method as hereindescribed of separating metals from their ores such method consisting inpassing the ore to be treated in a finely divided condition inconjunction with water as a wet pulp over an endless traveling beltcoated with an adhesive substance or compound as aforesaid adapted tocause the mineral particles to adhere thereto for which purpose thesurface of said layer or coating may be arranged or rendered other thansmooth and imparting eddies or swirls or otherwise interrupting theregular flow of the wet pulp as it passes over said coated belt orimparting a vertical tapping movement to that part of the belt on whichthe wet pulp is supported and subsequently removing from said belt saidcoating of adhesive substance with any metallic particles adheringthereto or mingled therewith, separating said mineral particles in anysuitable manner from the said coating substance or compound andre-coating the belt during its continuous travel as aforesaid or ifdesired the step of arranging and rendering the sur face of said layeror coating otherwise than smooth may be omitted.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated apparatus for separatingmetals from their ores in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 1 is side view in elevation of a complete apparatus according tomy present invention. Fig. 2 is a plan of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an end viewlooking in the direction of the arrow z Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 4 is adetail elevational view on the line yy looking in the direction of thearrow 90 Fig. 1 of one form of roller 1'. e. a cam roller or eccentricroller for raising and lowering the belt at -difl'erent pointstransversely as said belt passes over said roller. Fig. 5 is a detailelevational view on an enlarged scale of another form of roller forimparting shaking or vertical movement to the endless traveling belt asit passes over said roller. Fig. 6 is a detail vertical sectional viewon an enlarged scale of the belt scraping and belt re-oiling device andbath holding the supply of said oil. Fig. 7 is a similar view to Fig. 6only showing modified arrangement and construction of the bath or holderfor the oil (or other tacky substance to be applied to the belt) namelya separate holder for the oil before it has been applied to thetraveling belt and a separate holder for the oil after same has beenremoved from the belt with any metallic mineral therein. Fig. 8 is alocal view on an enlarged scale showing suitable means for elevating orlowering one end of the table or frame carrying the endless travelingbelt.

1 is main roller at the higher end of the table and 2 is main roller atthe lower end of the table (illustrated in Fig. 1) hereinafter referredto as the main rollers 1 and 2.

3 is the endless belt (advantageously made of canvas) traveling in thedirection of the arrow w Fig. 1 which belt passes round the main roller1 thence along under the roller 4 which keeps said belt 3 pressed downagainst the scraper blade 5 (see Figs. 1 and 7) by which latter the oilon the surface of said belt 3 (or any desired portion thereof) isscraped oil and drops into the oil reser 'oir or tank 6 which in thecase illustrated in Figs. 1 and 6 is the oil bath from which the belt isre-oiled or in the arrangem nt shown in Fig. 7 this tank or oilreceptacle 6 is a separate receptacle which receives therein. suchscraped off oil-as hereinafter explained while the fresh oil supply forspreading on the belt is taken from another and separate receptacle 6having no connection with the receptacle 6 so that by this arrangemei'itin Fig. 7 the belt is oiled from the bath of fresh oil only in thechamber 6* while the mineralized oil scraped. off the belt by th scraper5 is passed into another and separate receptacle entirely.

Either the scraper 5 or roller 1 above same may be made adjustablevertically or other wise so as to put more or less pressure from thescraper 5 upon the belt 8 or from the belt 3 upon the scraper. Afterpassing the scraper 5 the belt passes on (advantageously.

over a roller 7) in the direction of the arrow 1) and the outside ofsaid belt 3 (which is now the underside) then makes contact with theoiling roller 8 which is partly immersed in the oil in. the oil bath 6or 6 said oiling roller 8 advantageously being vertically adjustable inits bearings as for example by means of adjustable bearings as indicatedin dotted lines in Figs. 6 and 7. The belt 3 after passing the oilingroller 8 and having been thoroughly oiled then passes under the roller 9(or the latter may be dispensed with) and over the doctor or scraper 10which latteris advantageously adjustable so that any desired amount ofthe oil spread on the belt by the roller 8 can be scraped off by thedoctor or scraper 10 i. (a. so that exactly the desired thickness orquantity of oil required on the belt can be left thereon. After passingthe scraper 10 the belt next passes over the polygonal roller 11 (Fig.6) which may advantageously be an octagonal or hexagonal roller asillustrated; said polygonal roller 1 I being adjustable so as to beforced with the desired amount of pressure against the oiled surface ofthe belt 3 as it passessaid roller which latter is thereby rotated ormay be independently (i. e. mechanically) rotated so that as each flatside of said roller .11 moves away from the belt 3 to which it tends tostick thereby the oil surface is abraded or rendered ragged or uneven bythe drawing apart of the oil surface and roller surface thus forming aroughened or uneven oil surface very suitable for my purpose namely soas to present as much oil surface to the materials (metallic mineralsetc.) which later on are passed over same. Or in place of thepol;\'gonal sided roller 11 I may employ a fluted roll (either with orwithout the doctor or scraper 10) such for instance as the fluted roller11 shown in Fig. 7-whereby any sur plus oil can be squeezed oil the boltand the surface of the oil layer fluted and corrugated or otherwiseroughened for the tl'fUlOSltltl. purposes. similar devices fortheaforesaid purpose. The belt having been thus oiled then passes on roundthe lower main roller 2 and over any desired number of wabbling rolls 12(see Fig. 4) three such rolls being shown in Fig. 1 or the belt 3 passesover one or more tapping rolls 13 (see Fig. 5) which are provided with anumber of radial arms 13 which impart a rapid vertical vibratory actionor tapping on the underside of the belt which serves to asi.

belt 3 with the result that the minerafpari ticles of the wet pulp willthereby be thoroughly brought into contact with the oil on the belt. Orin place of or in addition to the aforesaid apron 14 of flexiblematerial linay use any other suitable material such for ex- I ample as awire gauze or grid 15 as indicated in Fig. 2. In addition to the waterspray or water supply employed at the upper end of the belt I also findit advantageous to employ another water spray 17 at the lower end j.

of the belt in or about the position shown in Or if desired I may useother lit) Fig. 2 with the water directed against the flow of the wetpulp along the belt 3.

Fig. 8 is an. enlarged view of the rack and pinionarrangement by whichthat end of the frame 18 which carries the lower main roller 2 can beraised and lowered by means of a rack and pinion motion as indicated inthis figure and Figs. 1 and 2.

The various moving parts of the machine are driven by any suitable meanssuch as by belt and spur caring as indicated in the drawings as wil? bereadily understood and which driving mechanism need not therefore behere further described.

An ed 'ing is provided along each side edge of the be t so as to preventthe wet pulp from flowing off the belt laterally such edging eitherbeing provided on the belt itself or this edging may be formed andarranged to act as indicated in the drawin s namely by means of twoseparate edging elts 19 passing round pulleys 20 at each end of themachine so that as the 'belt 3 passes along the upper part of the tablethese edging belts form raised edges 19 to said belt 3 (see Fig. 4) andthereby prevent the 'wet pulp flowing off the same laterally.

By the present invention sizing (which is so very necessary toconcentrating by gravity) is practically unnecessary; there is little orno loss of oil; and the quantity of oil in use is very small.

This process does not depend on the flotation power (which is not verygreat) of the oil as in oil processes heretofore suggested for theseparation of metals from their ores.

What I claim is 1. The herein described method of separating metals fromtheir ores which consists in forming a pulp; passing said pulpcontaining the metals over an oily adhesive substance; and in abradingthe surface of said substance by drawing apart the body of the same, andthereby causing some of the mineral particles to adhere thereto,substantially as described.

2. The herein described method of separating metals from their oreswhich consists in finely dividing the ore, then passing it in its finelydivided condition under a water supply, whereby awet pulp is formed,subj ecting the said pulp to the action of a travel ing oily adhesivesubstance, thereby causing some of the mineral particles to adherethereto, then roughening the adhesive sur face, imparting eddies orswirls to said traveling substance and therethrough to said pulp, andthereby interrupting the regular flow of the same and causing otherparticles to adhere to said oily substance while the said pulp istraveling along with the said substance, then collecting the said oilysubstance with the mineral particles that have adhered thereto, and thenseparating said mineral particles from said substance, substantially asdescribed.

3. The herein described method of separating metals from their oreswhich consists in finely dividing the ore, then passing it in its finelydivided. condition under a water supply, whereby a wet pulp is formed,subjecting the said pulp to the action of a traveling oily adhesivesubstance, thereby causing some of the mineral particles to adherethereto, then imparting eddies or swirls to said traveling substance andtherethrough to said pulp, and thereby interrupting the regular flow ofthe same and causing other particles to adhere to said oily substancewhile the said pulp is traveling along with the said substance, thencollecting the said oily substance with the mineral particles that haveadhered thereto, then separating said mineral particles from saidsubstance and finally resupplying said substance for contact with freshore, substantially as described.

4. The herein described method of separating metals from their ores,which consists in finely dividing said ore, then passing it in itsfinely divided condition into contact with a supply of water, whereby awet pulp is formed, subjecting the said pulp to the action of a roughsurfaced oily substance, causing the said surface and the said ore totravel along, and while so traveling imparting eddies or swirls to thesaid surface and pulp and thereby interrupting its regular flow, andcausing additional particles of the same to come into contact with thesaid rough surfaced oily substance, then collecting the said substancealong with any mineral particles that might adhere thereto, and finallyresupplying the said substance for contact with fresh ore, substantiallyas de scribed.

5. The herein described method of separating metals from their oreswhich consists in finely dividing said ore, then subjecting it in itsfinely divided condition to a source of water supply whereby a wet pulpis formed, then subjecting the said pulp to the action of a travelinroughened surfaced oily substance whereby the sticking of the mineralparticles of the said ore to the said substance is facilitated,continually automatically roughening the surface of said oily surface,and subjecting the said pulp to the action of eddies or swirls wherebyadditional mineral particles are caught by said oily substance,substantially as described.

6. The method of separating metals from their ores which consists infinely dividing the ore, then subjecting it in its finely dividedcondition to the action of water, whereby a wet pulp is formed,subjecting the said pulp" to the action of a traveling rough surfacedoily substance, consisting of a heavy hydrocarbon oil treated with achlorid of sulfur continually abrading or roughening the surface of saidoily substance, continually subjecting the said ore to eddies or swirlsand thereby causing additional particles to stick to said surface,collecting said substance and any mineral particles that may be adheringthereto, and separating said 10 mineral particles from said substance,substantially as described.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twoWitnesses.

JACOB DAVID WOLF. Witnesses it. WEsTAoo'r'r, FREDK. L. RAND.

